Abstract:
The phenomenon of "Naga worship" in the upper northeastern region has brought about the new creation of several types of folklore which can be considered creative folklore. This study aims at collecting creative folklore related to the Naga belief in the upper northeastern region of Thailand and analyzing ideas underlying the creation of the folklore and its functions in the region. The data were collected by conducting fieldwork in the areas of Udon Thani, Nongkhai, and Nakhon Phanom during 2016-2020. The concept of creative folklore (Nathalang, 2016) was adopted as the key concept of the study. The analysis reveals that recently in the upper northeastern region, several folklore genres have been newly created based on the Naga belief. The folklore can be considered creative folklore and can be categorized into three groups namely 1) the newly created Naga narratives, 2) traditions and rituals of the Naga worship, and 3) statues of the Naga, the Naga worship shrines, and material folklore related to the Naga belief. Some of the modern Naga narratives are derived from and related to indigenous myths of the Naga. Five significant traditions and rituals of the Naga worship were examined including 1) the Rocket Festival (Sixth Month Merit Making) and the Worship of Chaopu Srisuttho and Maeya Sripathumma in Udon Thani, 2) the Worship of Srisattanakkharat in Nakhon Phanom, 3) the End of Buddhist Lent Day and Illuminated Boat Procession Festival in Nakhon Phanom, 4) the Naga Fire Miracle of Faith Festival in Muang District, Nongkhai, and 5) the Naga Fire Miracle of Faith Festival in Phon Pisai District, Nongkhai. The ideas underlying the creation of the folklore related to the Naga belief in the upper northeastern region include adopting indigenous cultural capital especially the Naga myths and belief to create new folklore, elevating and transforming local traditions and rituals to extravaganzas and festivals targeting at the mass in the local areas as well as those from other regions of the country. The creation of such creative folklore responds to different conditions of the current social contexts including the context of creative economy, the growth of travel and tourism, and the development of modern media and communicative technology. This creative folklore demonstrates the integration of the local Naga belief and the construction of local identities as well as the preservation, creation, and adaptation of traditional folklore for creating popular culture. The functions of the creative folklore related to the Naga belief include constructing social meaning and identities for communities in the upper northeastern region, responding to the context of creative economy and tourism, creating new meanings for the Naga, creating new practices of the Naga worship, and serving as a spiritual anchor for local people and the believers. The findings in this study show the creation of folklore related to the Naga belief in new forms which rely on local cultural capital and are related to new media and popular culture. Moreover, they demonstrate the dynamics of the Naga belief which securely exists in the upper northeastern communities and becomes well received nationwide. This popularity results in the expansion of the Naga worship from local folk belief of Isan region to folklore of the mass in contemporary Thai society.